Hi demon1030,
Linguistic and cultural competency go hand in hand, and many of the
articles I have found for you discuss both topics. I?m glad to see so
much is being done to improve linguistic competence among health-care
workers. I have seen, from working in hospitals, and serving as a
medical interpreter, the disparate treatment non-English speakers
often receive. As the interpreter, I too was often treated in a less
than professional manner, simply for being the interpreter.
While some health care facilities are more sensitive to the needs of
non-English speaking patients, many rely on children, or non-medical
staff to interpret. I?d like to express, briefly, two events that I
encountered in the last few years, due to linguistic INcompetency! I
was called in to console a Spanish speaking patient who was crying,
uncontrollably. As I spoke to her, I found out she was extremely upset
over learning she was to have her kidneys removed. We spoke for a few
minutes, and I left to find her chart. Seems she was having her gall
bladder removed, but the housekeeper, kind woman that she was, was
unversed in English medical terminology, and misunderstood the doctor.
The patient suffered unnecessary stress at the thought of living
without kidneys the rest of her life!
I was once called to interpret in the ER. When I got there, I was told
they had found a nurse who spoke a little Spanish, and I was not
needed. Two hours later, the charge nurse from the ER called me and
asked me to PLEASE come back. The patient had overdosed on aspirin,
yet the nurse told the doctor, from her limited Spanish, that the
patient had overdosed on Tylenol (acetominophen). The nurse had
confused the Spanish terms for aspirin and Tylenol, with the English
chemical names ('acetylsalicylic acid' is aspirin). Meanwhile, the
patient was being treated for Tylenol overdose, and not aspirin. The
tests were repeated in the lab, as the doctor did not believe the lab
results for Tylenol came back as negative. I could write quite a bit
on errors I have seen due to poor interpretations, but I?ll get back
to your question now!
?An interesting take: A friend or relative may inhibit the patient
from being open and honest. The patient may not want to disclose a
personal issue in front of them. In some situations, it is possible
that the person accompanying the patient is an abuser?
http://nsweb.nursingspectrum.com/ce/m29d-1.htm
Absence of Cultural Competency
This article, from the University of Dayton gives some examples of
what happens when we lack cultural (and linguistic) competency
http://academic.udayton.edu/Health/08civilrights/01-02-16Culture.htm
From ACORN , a study on the availability of interpreters.
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
http://acorn.org/fileadmin/Additional_Accomplishments/National_report.pdf
Here?s a well done manual for clinicians from Volunteers in
Healthcare. This manual covers how language barriers affect health
care.
http://www.volunteers in Healthcare.org/Manuals/VIH.Lang.Barriers.Manual.pdf
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid had a large downloadable file on
Providing Oral Linguistic Services: A Guide for Managed Care Plans
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/healthplans/quality/project03.asp
Interface International
Cultural and Informed Consent
http://www.inter-faceinter.com/featured.html
The University of Kansas Medical School has a website for Cultural and
Linguistic Competency, and provides numerous links on the topic.
http://www2.kumc.edu/oced/cultural_comp.htm
Cultural Competence Resources
http://www.omhrc.gov/cultural/resources.htm
PATIENTS WHO DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH: IMPROVING LANGUAGE MINORITIES'
HEALTH CARE WITH PROFESSIONAL INTERPRETERS
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
OFFICE OF MINORITY HEALTH
http://www.omhrc.gov/cultural/lepfin1.doc
Here is a 32 page document, by Dr. Robert Putsch, on Language Access Services
http://www.air.org/cccm/progress/putsch.pdf
The Massachusetts Medical Interpreter site has several good links for
you to peruse:
http://www.mmia.org/
Cultural Competence
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
http://www.ahcpr.gov/news/ulp/dispar/dispar7.htm
?Planning, Implementing and Evaluating Culturally Competent Service
Delivery Systems in Primary Health Care Settings? By Tawara Goode
National Center for Cultural Competence
http://gucchd.georgetown.edu//nccc/nccc8.html
A 40 page document on Cultural Competence in HealthCare, by Joseph
Betancourt, Alexander R. Green, and J. Emilio Carrillo
http://www.cmwf.org/programs/minority/betancourt_culturalcompetence_576.pdf
Developing a Research Agenda for Cultural Competence in Health Care:
Cultural Competence Training
Diversity RX
http://www.diversityrx.org/htmL/RCPROJ_B.htm
More from Diversity RX on linguistic competence
http://www.diversityrx.org/htmL/RCPROJ.htm
National Healthcare for the Holess Council. Addressing Cultural and
Linguistic Competence. Lots of statistics here:
http://www.nhchc.org/cultural.htm
Basic Concepts & Definitions
University of Michigan
http://www.med.umich.edu/multicultural/ccp/basic.htm#continuum
Health Literacy and Adult English Language Learners
Center for Applied Linguistics
http://www.cal.org/ncle/digests/healthlitQA.htm
Further articles related to linguistic competence:
American Academy of Physicians Assistants
http://www.aapa.org/policy/interpreters.html
Assuring Cultural Competence in Health Care
Office of Minority Health
http://www.omhrc.gov/CLAS/
Providing Oral Linguistic Services
http://www.ahrq.gov/about/cods/oralling.htm
Page 2 of this .pdf document addresses language in health care settings:
The Community Guide
http://www.thecommunityguide.org/social/soc-AJPM-evrev-healthcare-systems.pdf
University of Kentucky
http://www.mc.uky.edu/scahip/fra/default.htm
Some books on Linguistic Competency from Geri Ann Galanti, author of
the book ?Caring for Patients from Different Cultures?
http://www.ggalanti.com/books.html
Hope this provieds you with more information than you need! Please
request an Answer Clarification, if any part of this answer is
unclear, before rating. This will enable me to assist you further, if
possible.
Regards,
crabcakes
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